The Cincinnati Bengals are officially running it back with their second Joe.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Friday that Bengals running back Joe Mixon has agreed to restructure his contract with the team. Mixon, 26, was originally owed $9.4 million in non-guaranteed base salary next season but is now taking a pay cut from the Bengals. As a result, Mixon gets to stay in Cincinnati, and the Bengals get to free up some cash and salary cap space.
“Joe’s goal is to win a Super Bowl and play his career in Cincinnati and this is the best way to accomplish these goals,” Mixon’s agent Peter Schaffer told ESPN.
A career-long Bengal, Mixon was a Pro Bowler in 2021 with 2,019 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns for Cincinnati over the last two NFL seasons combined. But there was plenty of talk that the Bengals might cut him this offseason since Mixon’s deal (as previously structured) would have counted $12.8 million against the cap for the 2023 campaign. Mixon wasn’t doing himself any favors lately either with his recent off-field troubles.
Ultimately though, the Bengals probably preferred to keep Mixon all along, especially after losing another running back in free agency. Now that Mixon has agreed to a cut, the continued union makes sense for both sides.
